The use of robots in the repair of sewer pipes which are not man-sized is already known. Such robots, which are provided with a drive means for moving them through sewer pipes, are suitable, e.g., for the cleaning of sewer pipes, for grinding off irregularities or protrusions or for the mending of leaks.
A known multi-segment robot for the above purposes is provided with a rotary head carrying a plurality of treatment tools and a camera. By means of a rotary motor, the rotary head and the robot arm connected thereto can be rotated in a controlled manner by up to 500.degree. about the longitudinal axis. Behind the rotary motor, which is supported on the sewer pipe wall by support wheels, a switch and relay unit is arranged for controlling the functions of the motor.
If, for instance, the robot is used to fill leaks or other gaps, a press-out container will be arranged behind the switch and relay unit. The material to be applied is pressed via a hose from the press-out container to the tool arranged on the rotary head and thus can be applied by the tool.
Arranged behind the press-out container is a carriage unit for moving the multi-segment robot through the sewer pipe under treatment. For this purpose, the carriage, serving as a tractor, comprises a plurality of wheels driven by a traction motor.
Since the above outlined known robot for the repair of sewer pipes has an overall length of about 120 cm, this robot is unfit for use in short sewer pipes, as, for instance, in sewer pipes for land drainage or in industrial wastewater drainpipes, particularly because such sewer pipes are often accessible only with difficulties. In some cases, the only possible approach is to insert the individual segments of the elongate robot separately into the sewer pipe and to reassemble them directly at the entrance of the sewer pipe. Such a procedure is extremely time-consuming and difficult.
A further robot for use in sewer pipes which are not man-sized, known from EP 0 618 398 A1, comprises, internally of a carriage housing, a traction motor driving the wheels, and a rotary motor driving a rotary head, with the traction motor and the rotary motor overlapping each other. Depending on the type of the tool or inspection instrument mounted to the rotary head, movement of the rotary head must be performed, e.g., at a very high speed, with very high accuracy or with a very high moment of rotation. If this known robot is to fulfill these different demands, bothersome resetting work has to be performed on it.
It is an object of the invention to provide a robot for the repair of sewer pipes which is of a compact constructional size, is useful also under unfavorable space conditions and is conveniently adapted to different demands.